Clarification on Sound Locks

I'm having trouble understanding Sound Locks. Do SL's have walls? or is it an open part of the structure so that rooms don't connect, but wires/pipes can travel between the rooms? In my drawing below, do I have the SL concept right? Or should I figure out how to make a room within that small space? If I do need to build a room, how does that keep sound from exiting, for instance, the CR and just going around the Sound Lock into the Studio? Perhaps, since I'm limited on space, could I have a tall, box-like structure that I could connect the outgoing conduit(or PVC pipe) from one room, to the incoming conduit to the other room, and fill that will some type of batting or insulation? See picture below for clarification of this idea. I could then keep the rooms sealed and still not loose my "walking space". Any comments would be appreciated.

I don't see why the baffled box thing won't work - I'd put a couple of dividers in, so there isn't a direct path from inlet to outlet, then stuff with insulation once all the wires are in place (including a few spares, of course) - You've got the SL down, anywhere you want to isolate you need for the sound to have to travel through a mass, air gap, and a second mass. You've done that, as long as all the doors are closed. For your Iso#2, if you want it less cramped and intend to use drop seals on both doors, you can put a 6" wider door in the outer leaf - then, offset the outer door so the striker side is 2" wider than the inner door and the hinge side is 4" wider - that way, both doors can open OUT - this will solve the "vacuum lock" problem of typical double doors, and not waste so much space inside the booth. Note that the inner door would also need to be at least 2" shorter so it would clear the outer frame. I've not yet done this, but I don't see any problems other than the PITA of custom doors/frames; but when Overly's cost around $5k sometimes it's worth some pain... Steve

knightfly wrote:

...you can put a 6" wider door in the outer leaf - then, offset the outer door so the striker side is 2" wider than the inner door and the hinge side is 4" wider - that way, both doors can open OUT...

I'm trying to visualize entering and exiting that booth, and it seems extremely awkward to me. Assuming both doors are wide open when I'm entering... once I'm inside, I would have to close both doors at the same time, with the outer door closing and latching slightly earlier than the inner door. That in itself is pretty awkward. Exiting would require even more dexterity, and I would predict there'd be a lot of "inner door banging into outer door" scenarios before people get the hang of it. All of this might be mitigated with self-closing hardware, no latches, well-positioned plastic guides to mitigate damage from door to door scrapes... Personally, I'd go with outer door opening outward and inner door opening inward. I do it everyday in the bathroom stall here at the office. ;) I would think you could get away with pretty narrow doors in that scenario, and of course the narrower the door, the less of an intrusion the door swing makes. Just my 2¢...

would this be a "open from the outside only" type of door? Thanks for the advice. ISO 2 is really probably going to be for amps only, so in the end, cost effectiveness will win out over space when it comes to the door design there. I have also considered making the inner door wall an "inside out" wall and just installing a sliding wall section to cover the inner door frame hole. The sliding part would be larger than the hole. I know that this would cut down isolation a bit, but it's just an idea I'm toying around with too. Thanks for clearing up my SL issues.

You've hit on the downside of that door scenario I knew must be there but couldn't put my finger on - maybe a Bungee cord between the doors... :mrgreen: You're right, for an amp room it wouldn't be a prob, since you'd be closing the inner one first. Otherwise, forget I said anything... Steve